2. Skip regular health check-ups to save money

Making an appointment with the dentist or the obgyn is expensive. It really is! Plus, why bother wasting time and money if you know you’ve taken care of yourself since the last time you went and sat on the “weird” chair?

Because you never know when something might ‘show up’ during a routine check-up and you might just prevent something really serious!

Regardless of how your family’s medical history looks, it’s always a good idea to fork over some money and book the regular routine check-ups today, rather than wait until it’s too late or too expensive to afford treatment!

3. Be cheap when it comes to repairs or maintenance

Whether it’s our car that needs maintenance, the washing machine that needs repairs, or a broken pipe that needs a plumber’s attention, I’d never opt for the cheapest service available and risk having to pay for it all over again because of the bad quality work.

Low prices don’t always mean low quality. A great professional might have competitive prices because they’re just starting out (we found a great auto mechanic this way).

But imagine a different scenario:

Imagine hiring someone to give your home a fresh coat of paint (how hard can it be to paint a couple of walls, right?).
You negotiate a great price, and they start working.
But… Uh-Oh!
They don’t really know what they’re doing! They need triple the paint quantity they estimated at first, the paint lines look sloppy and – oh my gosh! – the ceiling paint line is so uneven your eyes hurt!

Well… crap! Now you have to pay someone else to re-do the paint job all over again.

Sadly, this is a true story. Happened earlier this year. Risking safety or quality work over saving money is definitely not OK.

4. Obsess over coupons or sales to save money

I actually have a bunch of coupons in my wallet right now. I plan on using them over the next few weeks (they have an expiration date) if they’re gonna help save money.

However, obsessing over clipping coupons or buying all discounted items from 10 different locations sounds insane.

If I have coupons on me, it’s because they’ve been offered to me last time I went to certain stores or because I was browsing for products I know I need and found the coupons online. However, I would much rather pay full price for an item if it saves me time.

Saving money by using coupons is great, but letting it become an obsession sounds unhealthy. Besides, who has the time to clip hundreds of coupons or drive around to different locations just to get a discount?

5. Give up on hobbies to spend less

While saving money is great and all, giving up the opportunity to follow a passion or pursue a hobby is not OK in my agenda.

Some hobbies are ‘cheaper’ than others, but you can’t really control the things you’re passionate about.

For me, traveling is “it”! And even though it can get pretty expensive at times, I wouldn’t give up on the opportunity to visit a new location or travel abroad to visit my friends and family.

Besides, there are plenty of ways to save money while traveling!

From looking out for cheap flights to using credit card points to book hotel rooms for less to cooking indoors instead of eating at restaurants all the time!

Aside from these 5 examples, there are plenty of other small things I wouldn’t do to save money: buy second hand clothing, refuse to enjoy a meal out every once in a while or freeze to death just to save money on heat!

It’s easy to get carried away when struggling to save money on a regular basis. However, there’s a fine line between living frugally and becoming obsessed with spending as little as possible.

However, I’m sure everyone has their own financial habits they wouldn’t trade to save money.

4 thoughts on “5 extremely cheapskate things I wouldn’t do to save money”

This is a great post. Even though you may be trying to save money doesn’t mean you should skimp on quality. Usually that just means you’ll be spending more in the long run. I’ve taken a sort of minimalism approach with my money while working on paying off debt and it is so refreshing. I’m able to buy things I really love and I’m able to get the best quality, all while still saving tons of money. Thanks for the great post!

I have friends that always find some local mechanic to work on their cars and the end result is their car never runs smoothly. They think they’re saving money by using their “personal mechanic” who thinks he knows how to repair every car. The end result is always the same, their car continues to have problems and doesn’t get fixed right. I always take my cars back to the manufacturer dealership to get repaired because they fix it right the first time. Yeah, it can be pricey sometimes depending on the problem but once it’s fixed it’s fixed and I can enjoy a smooth riding vehicle.